Written by independent automotive journalist Steve Magnante
Don Prudhomme’s famous “Snake II” funny car is headed to the Barrett-Jackson auction block in January as Lot #1345. It is one of three race cars Prudhomme is bringing to Barrett-Jackson.
In the June 1971 issue of Car Craft magazine, editor Terry Cook wrote, “A funny car is a projectile that’s fired from its own cannon.” Cook’s words perfectly capture the brutal, violent and astonishing nature of that uniquely American acceleration device, the Top Fuel Funny Car, a veritable plastic-bodied rocket sled on wheels. The fact that modern funny cars have broken the four-second zone (prior to the NHRA decision to reduce the course from 1,320 to 1,000 feet) takes nothing away from mid-six-second machines like Don Prudhomme’s 1972-vintage Snake II ’Cuda Funny Car.
In that same June 1971 Car Craft issue, Cook continued, “Funny car success comes from covering the quarter-mile in 6.80 seconds, leaving just enough time to stuff the fuse back inside the grenade before it explodes.” These writings accompanied a story featuring the sport’s 27 most successful funny cars plus a roster of nearly 200 lesser-known supercharged, nitromethane-burning funny cars being campaigned across the nation at the time.
The Hot Wheels Snake II ’Cuda featured here was listed thus: “Don Prudhomme’s Cuda is currently the world’s quickest and fastest funny car. It has made several runs over 220 (mph) in the 6.6’s (seconds). The best of these was a 226 in 6.60. The Snake is tough.” What an understatement! For those of us old enough to remember the groundbreaking Mongoose and Snake funny car drag racing team of 1970, visions of Snake’s ’Cuda and Tom “Mongoose” McEwen’s Duster quickly come to mind.
Whether you were there in person watching the fire-belching HEMI-powered Plymouths match race each other, or were one of the millions of American kids fantasizing on the playroom floor with Mattel’s 1/64-scale Snake and Mongoose Hot Wheels cars in the decades since, there’s no denying the team’s worldwide popularity among kids of all ages.
But why play with palm-sized miniatures when the rare opportunity to own the real thing presents itself? Offered at No Reserve by International Motorsports Hall of Famer, Don Prudhomme himself, the fully restored Snake II funny car (Lot #1345) is soon going to find a new home. Correctly presented in its 1972 configuration, the Snake II is the second generation of Prudhomme’s ’Cuda-skinned funny car.
Unlike the first version, with its blocky body shell, shorter wheelbase, wide-set frame rails, heavy Cragar SS mag wheels, TorqueFlite automatic transmission and yellow paint, Snake II benefited from the many advances sweeping the funny car world in the early ’70s. A more streamlined body shell – a narrow, dragster-inspired frame by “Lil John” Buttera – added wheelbase length for improved high-speed stability, lightweight spun-aluminum Cragar Super Trik wheels, a Lenco 2-speed transmission with reverser and Alpine White exterior paint set it apart from Snake I (which has also been restored).
The exterior graphics appear as they did in 1972, when Snake dominated the match race circuit and competed on the American Hot Rod Association (AHRA) tour, winning several events and setting several performance records. In 1973, this car competed at the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, Indiana, where it set the national elapsed-time record in the quarter-mile at 6.35 seconds. Prudhomme also drove the “Snake II” to its top speed of 226 mph.
Also correctly presented is the iron-block, iron-head 426 HEMI with its 6-71 supercharger, magneto ignition and 3-port Enderle fuel injection “hat.” And unlike certain showpieces that aren’t functional, Snake II starts, runs and moves under its own power. The chassis is SFI certified (#C30255).
Proof of Snake II’s ability to excite was confirmed on the big screen when it was used for several action sequences in the 2013 “Snake & Mongoose” feature film. Today, in the year 2017, it has been 51 years since the flip-top funny car arrived on the drag racing scene. And while many “floppers” have been widely recognized, the Snake (and Mongoose) machines stand apart. Why not add the Snake II HEMI ’Cuda to your collection?
For up-to-date information on this vehicle, click HERE.
Don Prudhomme is also bringing two of his other race cars to the Barrett-Jackson block. His 1989 Pontiac Trans Am “Skoal Bandit” Funny Car (Lot #1346) was winner of the 1989 NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis and a Bud Shootout Champion. It is the last funny car Prudhomme drove in his career before returning to the Top Fuel ranks in 1990. His 2007 Chevrolet Impala SS “Skoal” Funny Car (Lot 1346.1) holds the significant distinction as the last funny car to be campaigned by the legendary drag racer and team owner; it was driven by Snake Racing driver Tommy Johnson Jr. in NHRA competition during the 2007 season and was the last race car in professional motorsports to feature Skoal-branded tobacco sponsorship.
Don Prudhomme’s 1989 Pontiac Trans Am “Skoal Bandit” Funny Car (Lot #1346)
